Angel Puss
- Studio
- Leon Schlesinger Studios
- Distributor
- Warner Bros.
Synopsis
Li'l Sambo, a whistling black boy, struts along wearing a huge hat and baggy pants. He sings "Mammy's Little Baby Loves Short'n Bread" on his way to the disagreeable task of having to drown a cat (for which a lady paid him four bits). Sambo takes the cat to the lake, and learns that this feline is smarter than he could have imagined. The wise guy cat escapes from the sack and decides to torment the boy by pretending to be his conscience. The cat goads Sambo into dropping the sack into the river, then scares him silly by powdering himself up and putting fake wings on, strumming a harp and spooking him in the cemetery. The cat shakes dice in its paws, inducing a "hypnotic trance" on Sambo to get him to come back after running away. In the end, Sambo blows the heck out of the cat with a double-barreled shotgun. Standout scenes include one in a graveyard and another in an old, dark house.
Characters
Li'l Sambo, Cat
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Chuck Jones (as Charles M. Jones)
Producing
- Producer
- Leon Schlesinger
Writing
- Writer
- Lou Lilly
Voices
- Voice
- Mel Blanc (Li'l Sambo, Cat)
Music
- Music
- Carl W. Stalling
Animation
- Animator
- Ken Harris
- Animators, uncredited
- Phil Monroe, Ben Washam, Shamus Culhane
Production notes
First Warner Bros. cartoon with director (rather than supervision) credits on the screen.
In 1968, United Artists (then owners of the A.A.P. library of pre-1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons) compiled the cartoons they considered too potentially offensive to be shown on television, and withheld those cartoons from distribution. AT that time, UA felt that these eleven cartoons should be withheld from broadcast because the depictions of black people in the cartoons were deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences.
This cartoon is one of those withheld from distribution, one of the so-called "Censored 11." (The "Eleven" are: Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (MM,1931), Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (MM, 1936), Clean Pastures (MM, 1937), Uncle Tom's Bungalow (MM, 1937), Jungle Jitters (1938), The Isle of Pingo Pongo (MM, 1938), All This and Rabbit Stew (MM, 1941), Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (MM, 1943), Tin Pan Alley Cats (MM, 1943), Angel Puss (LT, 1944), and Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (MM, 1944)). More recently, when Ted Turner became owner of the library, he continued the ban, and refused to allow any of these cartoons to be shown or released on video. To date, these shorts have not been officially broadcast on television since 1968.
In 1968, United Artists (then owners of the A.A.P. library of pre-1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons) compiled the cartoons they considered too potentially offensive to be shown on television, and withheld those cartoons from distribution. AT that time, UA felt that these eleven cartoons should be withheld from broadcast because the depictions of black people in the cartoons were deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences.
This cartoon is one of those withheld from distribution, one of the so-called "Censored 11." (The "Eleven" are: Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (MM,1931), Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (MM, 1936), Clean Pastures (MM, 1937), Uncle Tom's Bungalow (MM, 1937), Jungle Jitters (1938), The Isle of Pingo Pongo (MM, 1938), All This and Rabbit Stew (MM, 1941), Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (MM, 1943), Tin Pan Alley Cats (MM, 1943), Angel Puss (LT, 1944), and Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (MM, 1944)). More recently, when Ted Turner became owner of the library, he continued the ban, and refused to allow any of these cartoons to be shown or released on video. To date, these shorts have not been officially broadcast on television since 1968.
Pictures
Reviews
Dull but still obviously racist
One previous reviewer is right. It is a dull cartoon. That doesn't make the blackface minstrel appearance of the character any less openly racist or less offensive.
That the second reviewer thought this was an ordinary cartoon appearance says one of two things. Either he is a clueless racist, or he's so young that he has no familiarity with blackface or minstrel shows. I say the first, since he referenced tv shows from the 1970s he's obviously at least in his 50s and should know better.
Angel Puss
Even though this is one of the infamous "censored 11", there is nothing really offensive. The character doing all the well executed cartoony schtick happens to be black. By banning this cartoon, we send the message any black figure in anything is racist and should be banned as well. No more Cosby Show reruns or Fat Albert, In Living Color, Different Strokes, House Party, Beverly Hills Cop, In the Heat of the Night, Do the Right Thing, etc. Such a thing would put many many talented black people out of work which is much worse than any caricature could ever be.
I say, let the greatness of Angel Puss, and Coal Black for that matter, be in the lime light where it belongs. Let's get things on the right track before it's too late.
Angel Puss
This always gets so much hype because of it's "censored 11" status, but really I found it very boring and humourless. If "Li'l Sambo" had been a little white boy, this cartoon would have been long forgotten. Dull.